by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 7, 2019 | Blog
Feast of the Holy Rosary
The Celtic term Sogarth Aroon means beloved or precious priest. It is taken from a poem written by 19th century Irish poet John Banim, memorializing the tender care provided him by his local parish priest. The term reflects centuries of persecution of Irish Catholics by the British, who often were left priest-less and without the Sacraments. Any priest found who could minister to the Irish in those dark days was indeed “precious.” A shining modern example of a “precious priest” would be the Irish priest Father Willie Doyle, a chaplain during World War I. The works written on his life tell the tale of a deeply spiritual and devoted priest loved by the men he served.
Banim’s poem rightfully commends those brave priests and devoted parish priests who risked their lives and health to fulfill the obligations imposed at ordination. But the downside of the circumstances experienced both by Irish and British Catholics, (and later, to those behind the Iron Curtain), resulted in a dangerous attitude which carried over to American soil. In America, as Irish and American Catholic history attests, Irish immigrants were persecuted for their faith and once again exposed to a lack of priests on the American frontier. Certain areas of the U.S. were still considered missionary territory when the false Vatican 2 council convened.
So priests indeed remained precious. And Catholics remained “priest-hungry,” especially in light of the priest shortage that began long before the death of Pope Pius XII. Following their exodus from the Novus Ordo church in Rome in the 1960s-70s, Catholics generally believed that unless they had access to Mass and Sacraments, they could not receive the graces necessary to gain heaven. This mistaken belief, fostered by Traditionalist clergy who surfaced after the introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae, prompted Catholics exiting the Novus Ordo to find priests without any thought of checking their credentials or studying the matter to see what the Church has required in similar times to guarantee purity of faith.
Those convinced they must have Mass and Sacraments at any cost made little gods of these “priests,” when most of them were not even validly ordained. And even though there were legitimate questions raised by the disenchanted and complaints made about their validity, liceity or conduct, there were always “loyal” followers who shouted the naysayers down, willing to do anything to keep their precious priests. And so the compromises and denial began, and eventually anyone with a collar calling themselves a priest — regardless of any purported credentials — became eligible to head a congregation. The focus was not the truth, it was not what Christ taught while on earth, it was not the constant teaching of the Church throughout the ages. The focus was on the precious priests and a handful of precious “bishops” willing to ordain more of them and consecrate other bishops.
Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee. I want my Sacraments and my Mass, my graces, my ticket to heaven. I want my precious priest to make myself look legitimate to my family and community, to carry my questions and troubles to. Everyone else has a pastor and a church, why can’t I have one? This is “Catholic” entitlement at its best. “After all,” they will scream at you, “the Church as it was constituted by Christ will last forever, right? We will always have the Mass and the Sacraments. And if you don’t accept that, then you are not Catholic, you crazy stay-at-home people. I don’t care what Francis says; I don’t obey him in the things he teaches that aren’t really Catholic.” But do you really think a true pope could ever publicly teach something that is not Catholic?!
NEWSFLASH: The Church as Christ constituted it consisted of Christ, the invisible Head; St. Peter the visible head; the Apostles subject to St. Peter and his successors and only then, the priests subject to their bishops who granted them short-term, delegated jurisdiction, subject to expiration, review and revocation. If you don’t obey Francis in all things, then you have already admitted the Church doesn’t have a true pope and you are not part of that church. No one who refuses to obey a real pope can remain a member in good standing, or a member of any kind; it is a dogma of faith. And while Traditionalists are condemning stay-at-homes for denying the Church’s indefectibility, they are making a laughingstock of themselves.
Christ constituted the Church with Peter as its necessarily visible head; the bishops can function validly only in communion with and with the approval of a canonically elected Roman Pontiff. All of this is Church teaching binding on Catholics. So if Christ promised that the Church as He constituted it would last forever, where is Peter given that Francis is not a true pope? How can Traditionalists accuse others of impugning indefectibility when they cannot even fulfill the Church’s definition of that dogma themselves?
Are they calling Christ a liar for allowing this extended vacancy of the papal see if they claim that the Church must always exist as Christ constituted it, and yet it does not? Because in essence, that is what they are doing, although few will admit it. They have no basis as a movement or whatever they wish to call themselves for championing indefectibility when they themselves do not satisfy the definition of that term. The only person Christ guaranteed as indefectible in faith was the Roman Pontiff; not the priests, not the bishops, not even the cardinals.
The Church is indefectible, yes; but as approved theologians have noted, the Church primarily is the Vicar of Christ, and only secondarily the entire body of faithful including the hierarchy. The laity can be considered the Church only in times of persecution and calamity, and even then, only if they abide by the teachings of the continual magisterium and ecclesiastical discipline. The Sogarth Aroon was indeed precious; he exists no more. This is the Divine Punishment Christ has laid upon us for disobeying His Vicars and valuing exterior religion over the interior life.
Hear His words in Chapter II of the Apocalypse, where he tells St. John concerning the Church of Ephesus: “Be mindful from whence thou art fallen… do penance, and do thy first works.… Or else I will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance.” The candlestick Rev. E.S. Berry interprets here as the Church, removed from the faithful “by means of persecution, heresy, apostasy and schism. Only too often has this threat been carried out in the history of the Church.” In another place he writes, “Candlesticks represents all churches throughout the world for all time (The Apocalypse of St. John, 1921). But of course, Traditionalists and others claiming the name Catholic do not believe this could ever happen to them.
More importantly, the prophet Daniel foretold the Sacrifice would cease. That his words apply to the Holy Sacrifice and not just the Jewish sacrifice is the unanimous teaching of the Ancient Fathers, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St, Francis de Sales and others. The Vatican Council teaches that when the Fathers agree unanimously on the meaning of a Scripture passage, this constitutes a rule of faith; it cannot be refuted. The Catholic Mass did cease; Traditionalists had no right to celebrate it, and no, Quo Primum did not give them that right. For the very validity of their orders and possession of any remining jurisdiction (in the early years following the death of Pope Pius XII) was in question.
If validly ordained, they were bound under Canon Law to offer Mass privately, with no one in attendance, and no one receiving the Sacraments, because whatever jurisdiction they may have possessed quickly expired, in nearly all cases. Those doubtfully ordained could not function in any way until a true pope ruled on the validity of their orders. Even the attempt to function rendered their acts null and void, according to Canon Law and the teaching of Pope Pius XII. But those following the church in Rome, even though they may find Francis contemptible, will not accept the fact he was a heretic pre-election, and Traditionalists refuse to seriously consider the abundant proofs that John 23 was never validly elected, wiping out his so-called successors.
Drexelius in his classic spiritual work Heliotropium comments that the theologians teach God’s will is expressed in His laws and precepts; these include the laws made by His Vicars, which He has bound in Heaven. Unless we do God’s will, we cannot hope to merit eternal salvation. We find proof of this in Holy Scripture, where we read: “Not everyone who saith to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doth the will of My Father who is in Heaven” (Matt. 7: 21). St. Cyprian tells us that the will of God is what Christ has done and taught. For Christ came down from Heaven, “not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38).
In the Garden of Gethsemane shortly before His death, Christ renewed His intent to obey His Father in all things. He willed to suffer a horrible agony and death to accomplish that obedience and our redemption. He told His disciples that on the other side of this horrible suffering and ignominy was new life, the Resurrection. And still they begged Him not to do His Father’s will; to escape His fate instead. Many beg us to escape our own suffering and forget we must obey. They urge us to attend illicit or invalid Masses and receive invalid or sacrilegious Sacraments; to place ourselves under some invalidly ordained and/or consecrated cleric. Like Christ, we have only one choice we can make if we are to accomplish our eternal goal.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 12, 2017 | Blog
+ Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary +
Dear Readers,
This week began with the feast of the Holy Rosary on Saturday. It concludes this Friday Oct. 13, and in this same time period we marked the 59th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII Oct. 9, the Maternity of the Blessed Mother Oct. 11, the founding of America by Christopher Columbus Oct. 12 and the feast of St. Edward the Confessor Oct. 13. The constellation witnessed Sept. 23-25 has passed without event, although it was definitely an unusual and unprecedented “sign in the heavens,” which seems to correspond to Apoc. 12:1. As noted prior to these dates on this blog, the heavenly configuration was most likely a warning from Our Lady of what is to come.
On Jan. 25-26, 1938, another such warning was seen in the sky. This was the sign predicted on July 13, 1917 by Our Lady that God would give to the world, signaling the beginning of yet another war. In referring to the light, Sr. Lucia dos Santos called it a “great sign,” and “unknown light” which would appear in the sky “during the reign of Pope Pius XI,” as Our Lady had predicted. Our Lady also said it would be: “… the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.” And while Pope Pius XII has been much maligned as the pope who not only allowed Vatican II to happen but actually paved the way for the false council, he indeed was a pope persecuted in ways that those calling themselves Catholics today do not even understand.
“As Our Lady’s prophesied ‘unknown light’ illuminated the evening skies of Europe and North America, the top Communist, Freemason, and Rothschild agent Christian Rakovsky was giving Stalin’s chief interrogator the strategy to approach Hitler with the idea of the Hitler-Stalin pact. This was the idea which led directly to World War II … The ‘unknown light’ shown in the Western Europe evening sky throughout the entire first half hour of the Rakovsky interview at which point it faded. But the same unknown light shown in the evening skies of North America almost till the end of the interview,” (https://realnews247.com/rakovsky_interrogation.htm). And so Our Lady pinpointed not only the time of the actual pact that precipitated the war, but placed it unmistakably in a time frame that will soon be known to be the beginning of the end of the juridic Church. Please see also the new guest post under recent articles by Lauri Brown that further demonstrates Fatima’s message is in perfect agreement with the liturgy of the Church.
Though many seem not to have made the connection, the very same tactics used by the secret societies to destroy the Church are in play today to destroy this country. It began in earnest with the election of Barack Obama, whose citizenship was (and still is) contested just as Roncalli’s Church membership was later contested. Many things were done secretly by Obama that are just now coming to light, as with the usurpers. This was the general undermining preceding the final blows. Today we see the destruction of this country’s culture by the ultra-leftists, bent on ramming Socialism and Communism down the throats of Americans. Christian manger scenes forbidden, 10 Commandment monuments removed, business owners forced to violate their consciences to satisfy public sinners, war monuments destroyed that represent the history of this nation, the dishonoring of Christopher Columbus — the list goes on and on.
Probably the most striking likeness to the destruction of the Church’s devotions, Her Mass and Her Sacraments was evidenced last month when a fourth-grade teacher in Mesa, Arizona substituted the word “humans” for the word “men” in the Declaration of Independence, instructing students to recite the “gender-neutral” version during class-time. One congressman strongly objected to the substitution, declaring the “sacred words” of the Declaration are immutable and incapable of change. But who was publicly protesting when the Canon of the Mass was being falsified — Christ’s own words? If Christ Himself can be knocked into the gutter, nothing will stop America’s enemies from discarding the words of mere men. Having destroyed the Church, what hope does this country have of saving itself? Unbeknownst to all but a few, the role America has played in that destruction defies belief, and unfortunately she will pay the price for it. Only the Immaculate Conception, her appointed patroness, can save her now.
As the Church goes, so goes the world, so that is the bell that tolls for America. Freedom may be the torch the lady in the harbor holds, but no one is ever free to sin; and that is precisely what these freedoms have come to mean in this country. Men freely created her Declaration of Independence and Constitution as a grand Masonic experiment and can just as freely dismantle it. The Declaration of Independence even says as much. Christ Himself gives us the answer: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15:20).
Fatima’s predictions will be realized in God’s own good time, regardless of anniversaries or signs in the sky. We continue to watch, sickened by what we see, but knowing that God is with us “even to the consummation.”
Blessings,
T. Benns
by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 11, 2017 | Blog
+ St. Francis Borgia +
Dear Readers,
The final week of the Fatima apparitions is upon us, beginning with the feast of the Holy Rosary on Saturday. It concludes this Friday Oct. 13, and in this same time period we mark the 59th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII Oct. 9, the Maternity of the Blessed Mother Oct. 11 and the feast of St. Edward the Confessor Oct. 13. The constellation witnessed Sept. 23-25 has passed without event, although it was definitely an unusual and unprecedented “sign in the heavens,” which seems to correspond to Apoc. 12:1. As noted prior to these dates on this blog, the heavenly configuration was most likely a warning from Our Lady of what is to come.
On Jan. 25-26, 1938, another such warning was seen in the sky. This was the sign predicted on July 13, 1917 by Our Lady that God would give to the world, signaling the beginning of yet another war. In referring to the light, Sr. Lucia dos Santos called it a “great sign,” and “unknown light” which would appear in the sky “during the reign of Pope Pius XI,” as Our Lady had predicted. Our Lady also said it would be: “… the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.” And while Pope Pius XII has been much maligned as the pope who not only allowed Vatican II to happen but actually paved the way for the false council, he indeed was a pope persecuted in ways that those calling themselves Catholics today do not even understand.
“As Our Lady’s prophesied ‘unknown light’ illuminated the evening skies of Europe and North America, the top Communist, Freemason, and Rothschild agent Christian Rakovsky was giving Stalin’s chief interrogator the strategy to approach Hitler with the idea of the Hitler-Stalin pact. This was the idea which led directly to World War II … The ‘unknown light’ shown in the Western Europe evening sky throughout the entire first half hour of the Rakovsky interview at which point it faded. But the same unknown light shown in the evening skies of North America almost till the end of the interview,” (https://realnews247.com/rakovsky_interrogation.htm). And so Our Lady pinpointed not only the time of the actual pact that precipitated the war, but placed it unmistakably in a time frame that will soon be known to be the beginning of the end of the juridic Church. Please see also the new guest post under recent articles by Lauri Brown that further demonstrates Fatima’s message is in perfect agreement with the liturgy of the Church.
Though many seem not to have made the connection, the very same tactics used by the secret societies to destroy the Church are in play today to destroy this country. It began in earnest with the election of Barack Obama, whose citizenship was (and still is) contested just as Roncalli’s Church membership was later contested. Many things were done secretly by Obama that are just now coming to light, as with the usurpers. This was the general undermining preceding the final blows. Today we see the destruction of this country’s culture by the ultra-leftists, bent on ramming Socialism and Communism down the throats of Americans. Christian manger scenes forbidden, 10 Commandment monuments removed, business owners forced to violate their consciences to satisfy public sinners, war monuments destroyed that represent the history of this nation, the dishonoring of Christopher Columbus — the list goes on and on.
Probably the most striking likeness to the destruction of the Church’s devotions, Her Mass and Her Sacraments was evidenced last month when a fourth-grade teacher in Mesa, Arizona substituted the word “humans” for the word “men” in the Declaration of Independence, instructing students to recite the “gender-neutral” version during class-time. One congressman strongly objected to the substitution, declaring the “sacred words” of the Declaration are immutable and incapable of change. But who was publicly protesting when the Canon of the Mass was being falsified — Christ’s own words? If Christ Himself can be knocked into the gutter, nothing will stop America’s enemies from discarding the words of mere men. Having destroyed the Church, what hope does this country have of saving itself? Unbeknownst to all but a few, the role America has played in that destruction defies belief, and unfortunately she will pay the price for it. Only the Immaculate Conception, her appointed patroness, can save her now.
As the Church goes, so goes the world, so that is the bell that tolls for America. Freedom may be the torch the lady in the harbor holds, but no one is ever free to sin; and that is precisely what these freedoms have come to mean in this country. Men freely created her Declaration of Independence and Constitution as a grand Masonic experiment and can just as freely dismantle it. The Declaration of Independence even says as much. Christ Himself gives us the answer: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15:20).
Fatima’s predictions will be realized in God’s own good time, regardless of anniversaries or signs in the sky. We continue to watch, sickened by what we see, but knowing that God is with us “even to the consummation.”
Blessings,
T. Benns
by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 11, 2017 | Blog
+ St. Francis Borgia +
Dear Readers,
The final week of the Fatima apparitions is upon us, beginning with the feast of the Holy Rosary on Saturday. It concludes this Friday Oct. 13, and in this same time period we mark the 59th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII Oct. 9, the Maternity of the Blessed Mother Oct. 11 and the feast of St. Edward the Confessor Oct. 13. The constellation witnessed Sept. 23-25 has passed without event, although it was definitely an unusual and unprecedented “sign in the heavens,” which seems to correspond to Apoc. 12:1. As noted prior to these dates on this blog, the heavenly configuration was most likely a warning from Our Lady of what is to come.
On Jan. 25-26, 1938, another such warning was seen in the sky. This was the sign predicted on July 13, 1917 by Our Lady that God would give to the world, signaling the beginning of yet another war. In referring to the light, Sr. Lucia dos Santos called it a “great sign,” and “unknown light” which would appear in the sky “during the reign of Pope Pius XI,” as Our Lady had predicted. Our Lady also said it would be: “… the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.” And while Pope Pius XII has been much maligned as the pope who not only allowed Vatican II to happen but actually paved the way for the false council, he indeed was a pope persecuted in ways that those calling themselves Catholics today do not even understand.
“As Our Lady’s prophesied ‘unknown light’ illuminated the evening skies of Europe and North America, the top Communist, Freemason, and Rothschild agent Christian Rakovsky was giving Stalin’s chief interrogator the strategy to approach Hitler with the idea of the Hitler-Stalin pact. This was the idea which led directly to World War II … The ‘unknown light’ shown in the Western Europe evening sky throughout the entire first half hour of the Rakovsky interview at which point it faded. But the same unknown light shown in the evening skies of North America almost till the end of the interview,” (https://realnews247.com/rakovsky_interrogation.htm). And so Our Lady pinpointed not only the time of the actual pact that precipitated the war, but placed it unmistakably in a time frame that will soon be known to be the beginning of the end of the juridic Church. Please see also the new guest post under recent articles by Lauri Brown that further demonstrates Fatima’s message is in perfect agreement with the liturgy of the Church.
Though many seem not to have made the connection, the very same tactics used by the secret societies to destroy the Church are in play today to destroy this country. It began in earnest with the election of Barack Obama, whose citizenship was (and still is) contested just as Roncalli’s Church membership was later contested. Many things were done secretly by Obama that are just now coming to light, as with the usurpers. This was the general undermining preceding the final blows. Today we see the destruction of this country’s culture by the ultra-leftists, bent on ramming Socialism and Communism down the throats of Americans. Christian manger scenes forbidden, 10 Commandment monuments removed, business owners forced to violate their consciences to satisfy public sinners, war monuments destroyed that represent the history of this nation, the dishonoring of Christopher Columbus — the list goes on and on.
Probably the most striking likeness to the destruction of the Church’s devotions, Her Mass and Her Sacraments was evidenced last month when a fourth-grade teacher in Mesa, Arizona substituted the word “humans” for the word “men” in the Declaration of Independence, instructing students to recite the “gender-neutral” version during class-time. One congressman strongly objected to the substitution, declaring the “sacred words” of the Declaration are immutable and incapable of change. But who was publicly protesting when the Canon of the Mass was being falsified — Christ’s own words? If Christ Himself can be knocked into the gutter, nothing will stop America’s enemies from discarding the words of mere men. Having destroyed the Church, what hope does this country have of saving itself? Unbeknownst to all but a few, the role America has played in that destruction defies belief, and unfortunately she will pay the price for it. Only the Immaculate Conception, her appointed patroness, can save her now.
As the Church goes, so goes the world, so that is the bell that tolls for America. Freedom may be the torch the lady in the harbor holds, but no one is ever free to sin; and that is precisely what these freedoms have come to mean in this country. Men freely created her Declaration of Independence and Constitution as a grand Masonic experiment and can just as freely dismantle it. The Declaration of Independence even says as much. Christ Himself gives us the answer: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15:20).
Fatima’s predictions will be realized in God’s own good time, regardless of anniversaries or signs in the sky. We continue to watch, sickened by what we see, but knowing that God is with us “even to the consummation.”
by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 10, 2017 | Blog
+ St. Francis Borgia +
Dear Readers,
The final week of the Fatima apparitions is upon us, beginning with the feast of the Holy Rosary on Saturday. It concludes this Friday Oct. 13, and in this same time period we mark the 59th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII Oct. 9, the Maternity of the Blessed Mother Oct. 11 and the feast of St. Edward the Confessor Oct. 13. The constellation witnessed Sept. 23-25 has passed without event, although it was definitely an unusual and unprecedented “sign in the heavens,” which seems to correspond to Apoc. 12:1. As noted prior to these dates on this blog, the heavenly configuration was most likely a warning from Our Lady of what is to come.
On Jan. 25-26, 1938, another such warning was seen in the sky. This was the sign predicted on July 13, 1917 by Our Lady that God would give to the world, signaling the beginning of yet another war. In referring to the light, Sr. Lucia dos Santos called it a “great sign,” and “unknown light” which would appear in the sky “during the reign of Pope Pius XI,” as Our Lady had predicted. Our Lady also said it would be: “… the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.” And while Pope Pius XII has been much maligned as the pope who not only allowed Vatican II to happen but actually paved the way for the false council, he indeed was a pope persecuted in ways that those calling themselves Catholics today do not even understand.
“As Our Lady’s prophesied ‘unknown light’ illuminated the evening skies of Europe and North America, the top Communist, Freemason, and Rothschild agent Christian Rakovsky was giving Stalin’s chief interrogator the strategy to approach Hitler with the idea of the Hitler-Stalin pact. This was the idea which led directly to World War II … The ‘unknown light’ shown in the Western Europe evening sky throughout the entire first half hour of the Rakovsky interview at which point it faded. But the same unknown light shown in the evening skies of North America almost till the end of the interview,” (https://realnews247.com/rakovsky_interrogation.htm). And so Our Lady pinpointed not only the time of the actual pact that precipitated the war, but placed it unmistakably in a time frame that will soon be known to be the beginning of the end of the juridic Church. Please see also the new guest post under recent articles by Lauri Brown that further demonstrates Fatima’s message is in perfect agreement with the liturgy of the Church.
Though many seem not to have made the connection, the very same tactics used by the secret societies to destroy the Church are in play today to destroy this country. It began in earnest with the election of Barack Obama, whose citizenship was (and still is) contested just as Roncalli’s Church membership was later contested. Many things were done secretly by Obama that are just now coming to light, as with the usurpers. This was the general undermining preceding the final blows. Today we see the destruction of this country’s culture by the ultra-leftists, bent on ramming Socialism and Communism down the throats of Americans. Christian manger scenes forbidden, 10 Commandment monuments removed, business owners forced to violate their consciences to satisfy public sinners, war monuments destroyed that represent the history of this nation, the dishonoring of Christopher Columbus — the list goes on and on.
Probably the most striking likeness to the destruction of the Church’s devotions, Her Mass and Her Sacraments was evidenced last month when a fourth-grade teacher in Mesa, Arizona substituted the word “humans” for the word “men” in the Declaration of Independence, instructing students to recite the “gender-neutral” version during class-time. One congressman strongly objected to the substitution, declaring the “sacred words” of the Declaration are immutable and incapable of change. But who was publicly protesting when the Canon of the Mass was being falsified — Christ’s own words? If Christ Himself can be knocked into the gutter, nothing will stop America’s enemies from discarding the words of mere men. Having destroyed the Church, what hope does this country have of saving itself? Unbeknownst to all but a few, the role America has played in that destruction defies belief, and unfortunately she will pay the price for it. Only the Immaculate Conception, her appointed patroness, can save her now.
As the Church goes, so goes the world, so that is the bell that tolls for America. Freedom may be the torch the lady in the harbor holds, but no one is ever free to sin; and that is precisely what these freedoms have come to mean in this country. Men freely created her Declaration of Independence and Constitution as a grand Masonic experiment and can just as freely dismantle it. The Declaration of Independence even says as much. Christ Himself gives us the answer: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15:20).
Fatima’s predictions will be realized in God’s own good time, regardless of anniversaries or signs in the sky. We continue to watch, sickened by what we see, but knowing that God is with us “even to the consummation.”
by T. Stanfill Benns | Sep 14, 2017 | Blog
+ Exaltation of the Holy Cross +
Genesis 1:14: “And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.”
“There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars.” (Luke 21:25)
The Internet is ablaze with news of the rare celestial event that will appear Sept. 23-25 of this year — a one-time configuration of stars and planets in the constellation Virgo (the Virgin) never seen in the 7,000 years of man’s history, by some accounts. On Sept. 16 the sun will enter that constellation. This week we had/have these feasts: Sept. 12, the Most Holy Name of Mary; Sept. 13, the anniversary of the fifth apparition at Fatima; the feasts of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) and Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept. 15). Sept. 19 is the 171st anniversary of her appearance at La Salette. As a sky map (available on the Internet) shows for Sept. 23-25, the Virgin “stands” on the moon. Twelve stars will surround her head (nine of them stars in the proper sense and the other three the planets, Venus, Mercury, and Mars). On Sept. 23 the sun will be behind her. Beneath the feet of the woman can be found the serpent constellation, Hydra. The planet Jupiter will have spent 9.5 months (42 weeks) within Virgo’s womb, and will emerge Sept. 23-25. (Sept. 24 is the feast of Our Lady of Ransom. Sept. 22-23 are ember days.) This is precisely the description of events given by St. John in Apocalypse 12:1-5. But what does it all mean?
Protestants, reading the Apocalypse chronologically, believe it is the time of the rapture and the final judgment. Others believe it signals the advent of the “Tribulation” lasting seven years. Both of these interpretations are rejected by Catholic biblical scholars. Protestants also identify the son Our Lady gives birth to, snatched up to Heaven to God’s throne, as Our Lord; and many of them think this could signify the Second Coming. They believe this because according to Internet sources, Jupiter is known as the King planet and Jupiter also was considered by the Jews to be the planet of the Messiah. While Christ, of course, could come at any time to judge the world, most of those identifying themselves as Catholic do not believe this will occur unless the Church is first restored. Most Traditionalists believe, or at least it appears they believe, that Antichrist’s coming is yet in the future and they live in the latter, not the last days. Novus Ordo “catholics” and Protestants also believe his coming lies in the future, and that somehow this September configuration will either trigger events preceding his appearance and/or result in the expected rapture.
But those outside the mainstream must think according to the teachings of the Church. It is curious that prior to birth, all is dark inside the womb; perhaps there will be a period of darkness before Jupiter is actually “born.” It could be possible that during these particular three days mentioned (Sept. 23, 24, 25) the earth may experience the three days of darkness foretold in so many prophecies regarding the latter days. This is gone into in great length by several holy seers, among them Marie Julie Jahenny, Ven. Anna Maria Taigi, Mother Maria Rafols, Anne Catherine Emmerich and others. Only after this event will the world be purged of the evils currently afflicting it. Therefore, the birth of Jupiter may have some reference to the reign of Christ the King following this cleansing purge. Is it a certainty? No, but it is a possibility. Those working for Satan are planning just such a purge themselves and have been for many decades. It is possible that whatever they are engineering will backfire and destroy the evil, not the good. However, I believe it is more likely that this sign is merely a warning and a harbinger of what is to come There was another strikingly similar reference to sky signs and darkness in the Guadalupe apparitions, so this is not an isolated incidence. And it seems to point more to a possible visitation of some kind than anything else.
What was it about Our Lady’s image that spoke so clearly to the Aztecs of the 1500s, compelling them to convert? They identified her image with an ancient Indian tradition about their primary god, Quetzalcoatl, to whom they had erected the largest of Mexico’s pyramids, and at its summit a great temple for his worship. The tradition related how at one time there had been a “long night,” when the sun did not shine for four days, a time when many people perished during the mysterious darkness. (Some attribute this to the violent eruption of a volcano and the deaths from its subsequent toxic gases.) Afterwards, according to legend, a crescent-shaped, serpent-like body with colored markings had appeared in the sky and later transformed itself into a brilliant star, (Our Lady Comes to America, Raphael Grashoff, C. P., 1957). Our Lady of Guadalupe is adorned with the stars as they were positioned in the sky the day she appeared to Juan Diego, and this is very like the configuration in the sky predicted for Sept. 23-25.
At the time Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, The Boreal Crown of stars is above her head (Apocalypse 12:1, a crown of 12 stars), Virgo hovers near her hands folded over her chest (she is a virgin) and Leo, Lion of the tribe of Judah is below the maternity belt above her womb: She is bearing the King of Kings. The upper part of her cloak is covered with stars, but the star Sirius, identified by some as the Star of Bethlehem (but also worshipped by the Freemasons), is at the bottom of her robe near her feet, just as it is in the Fatima apparitions. (Sirius is one of the stars in the Orion “winter triangle.”) Mary stands super imposed by the Southern Cross, with the constellation Ophiucus just over her left shoulder: Ophiucus the Dark Rift, the serpent bearer and the 13th house of the zodiac. The moon, of course, is under her feet.
Catholics must remember that all the apparitions of Our Lady were intended to console, make requests, warn and/or to convert. These celestial signs help determine the type of message Our Lady wishes to convey. The two references to Fatima, the star and the number 13, link Guadalupe to Fatima. At the time Our Lady appeared in Mexico, the Protestant Reformation was in full swing in Europe. It is said her appearance converted the Mexican natives to replace those Catholics lost to the faith because of the Reformation. This marked the beginning of the Great Apostasy. Nearly 500 years later, could we be seeing its end? And isn’t conversion now more urgent than ever before, since Our Lord could chastise this sin-ridden earth at any time? Warning and conversion – these are the two purposes for this stellar configuration. But given the recent threats to America’s security Our Lady also could come to console, in the event of a terrorist or nuclear event. It all depends on if this sky sign corresponds with a Marian apparition, if that apparition is reported and is credible and if other events continue to unfold, with or without an apparition.
The image in Apocalypse could represent both the beginning and the end of the Great Apostasy. In the beginning, Leo, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, rests in Our Lady’s womb. The Church was still the Church; She had a true pope. But this latest configuration shows Jupiter in her womb. Could this signify the end of the false popes, who ruled as kings and the re-establishment of the papacy? The usurpers now in Rome play the part of the god-emperors of ancient Rome who worshipped Jupiter as their primary deity. The child delivered is pursued by the dragon and taken up to God’s throne in the Apocalypse; this could not have any reference to a pagan deity, nor could such a monstrosity ever be associated with Our Lady. Some say this taking up into heaven symbolizes divine protection (Rev. Leo Haydock); others (Rev. E.S. Berry, Fr. H.B. Kramer) believe the child she delivers is a pope intended to rule, but who is either greatly persecuted and/or martyred. But the one delivered nevertheless rules with a rod of iron, which could indicate divine punishment by the pope elected or the chastisement sent by Our Lord for rejection of the true pope. After all, it is Our Lady of Guadalupe who is the patroness both of the papacy and the Americas, which explains the connection to Fatima.
That such a sky sign should be preceded by and include so many Marian feasts, and coming as it does during the 100th anniversary of Fatima, it seems to be indicative of some manifestation of Our Lady somewhere in the world during this time period. She told the children she would come a seventh time and while it has always been asserted that that time was fulfilled by her private apparition to Sr. Lucia, this does not correspond with the manner in which she appeared the other six times. Perhaps the seers could not reveal it, as it may have been part of the third secret. If Our Lady should appear, it will most likely be in way of a final warning before the terrible Day of the Lord.
That day was seen most clearly by the Breton (French) stigmatist Marie-Julie Jahenny, whose many predictions about our own times have been fulfilled to the letter. Below is a brief sampling of some of her many prophecies.
(From the French Bishop Fournier, who defended the La Salette seers and Marie-Julie Jahenny. After his death he appeared to Marie Julie and told her the following): “I shall weep over the Eternal City and the chains of the Holy Pontiff…I shall shed with him the last tears of the living Church, because sorrow will extinguish Her for a certain time, and that time is written in Heaven.”
“The Blessed Virgin said that only by prayer and penance will we be saved. Pray especially to the Sacred Heart” (Sept. 29, 1874, 44 years before Fatima.)
“Twenty-four hours before the burst of this storm so black (the chastisement), our Lord will give signs in the firmament. Ah! without the Sacred Heart, we will all perish. All priests who are not good, will be punished.” (Dec. 18, 1874)
“The works of God…will be suspended and the places in which the divine presence dwells will become places of scandal. Blasphemy shall reign therein, and horrible decisions will be made there…The first period is that of the priesthood which has existed since [Our Lord’s] time. The second period is that of the persecution when the enemies of the faith will formulate…the book of the second celebration…” (April,1880). “Soon no sanctuaries will be found any longer…[But] religion will continue to dwell in lonely souls, although these will be harassed and struck pitilessly.” (June 1881). “During all this time you will not have the Bread of the Strong…No apostles, you will have only your faith as food, my Divine Son as sovereign Priest to forgive you…”
On Sept. 19, 1901, anniversary of her appearance at La Salette, Our Lady told Marie Julie: “They take little notice of what I revealed…Now is the time that these great promises will be accomplished that the Church authorities have despised…Some holy priests wanted to make known the message of La Salette, other pastors rebelled and the message was put back under seals, whereas it should have been delivered to the world. It was because pastors and the priesthood was the great issue that there was a rebellion…A heavy cross awaits them…A distinct justice is reserved for them.”
On Nov. 27, 1902 and May 10, 1904, the seer learned from Our Lord and Our Lady: “The disciples who are not of my Gospel are now working hard to remake according to their ideas and under the influence of the enemy of souls a mass that contains words that are odious in my sight…” Our Lady announced “the dispersion of the pastors by the Church itself…real pastors who will be replaced by others formed by hell…new preachers of new sacraments, new temples, new baptisms, new confraternities.”
The damage to the Church is so devastating it will take a miracle to restore it, if this is indeed God’s will. We can only hope these sky signs might signal Christ is coming soon either for the final judgment or to end this nightmare on earth and restore His Church. We hope and pray that Our Lord cannot tarry much longer in chastising the wicked, and so we must be armed with the truths of faith and the weapons of prayer and penance, no matter what the day or the hour might be, or what may be seen in the heavens.
